Concepts

What are the mouse and mouse pointer?

The mouse is what is known as a "pointing device"; with it, you can point to any position on the computer screen. Rolling the mouse over a solid surface causes the mouse pointer to move around the screen.

The mouse pointer is a small image, usually in the shape of an arrow, although the mouse pointer's shape can change depending on context. Your computer has exactly one mouse, and there is only one mouse pointer on the screen at any time, regardless of how many applications your computer is running.

On the top of the mouse, under your fingers, are one or two buttons, depending on what type of computer you're using. To press and release this button is to "click the mouse." To click the mouse when the mouse pointer is at a particular place on the screen is to "click on" that place. To press and release the mouse quickly twice in a row is to "double-click". To press the mouse button down and hold it down as you move the mouse, followed by a release of the button, is called "dragging the mouse."

Copyright 1997 by the Curators of the University of Missouri